Kalinouski Regiment’s Fighter: Russians Had No Chance in Irpin
- 2.06.2022, 9:25
Belarusian Pavel Bort told about his participation in the fierce battles near Kyiv.
The Belsat journalists met Pavel Bort, the regiment named after Kastus Kalinouski, in Warsaw, on the day of his departure and other Belarusian volunteers to Ukraine. His friend Dima Terror, who died in the battle for Irpin on March 25, was with him.
When journalists shared contacts with Pavel in Warsaw, his phone screen saver had a picture of his sister with his nephew. They are waiting for him in Belarus. "Everything will be fine. I tell my sister that every day."
"War is when all grey and dirty and covered with blood. I still have the sweet smell of a burned person in my nose. War is women and children crying 'Help.' The one I remember most was a shell-shocked 17-year-old boy, a sophomore at a Ukrainian military academy. He went crazy when he saw his comrades being torn apart by mines. I remember his eyes," says the Belarusian fighter.
"But life must go on; no one is sure about tomorrow: will one survives or not. I neither read nor watch anything, I do my task, and that's it. And I wish all the guys to stay alive," says Pavel.
The journalists discussed with him about the first months of the war, when there was heavy fighting near Kyiv, and about the feelings that overcome when you must tell your comrade's relatives about the death.
Belsat publishes Pavel Bort's monologue.
"Dima did this inscription; he was shot 20 minutes later. The next day he died. The photo shows Dima with a grenade launcher in his hands. I became superstitious: I don't shave before leaving, I don't get my hair cut, I don't take pictures, and I don't take pictures during the missions".
"My call sign is 'Bort'. I fight in the Kalinouski regiment. I took part in the liberation of Irpin. Now I am in eastern Ukraine.
In Irpin, we were in hell. I don't know where to start... We took the fight; the Russians shot artillery at us very hard. Our unit was determined to fight. Everyone did their job. We didn't leave them a single chance.
There were many wounded AFU soldiers. And our Belarusian, a medical professional with a call sign Fred, was crawling and helping them. Fred was a civilian veterinarian. Another Belarusian with call sign Dyadka pulled out the wounded. I hope they will be awarded".
Dima Terror's mother did not know that her son went to war.
"When Dima Terror was wounded, Fred patched up his wound, pierced his lung with a compression needle, and his breathing evened out. But the doctors could not save him; Dima's vital organs were injured.
Terror was wounded on March 24. He died in the hospital on March 25. Dima was from Smorgon. He had elderly parents, sister and nephews at home. He didn't have any family of his own. I showed Dima's body to his mother via video link when they brought him from the morgue. That was probably the hardest thing in my life. His mom was crying a lot and couldn't believe it. He didn't tell his parents he was going to Ukraine.
If I ever have a son, I would like him to be like Dima.
We were one of the first to go to Bucha. I saw there many dead civilians. I still have a picture before my eyes: civilians coming out to meet us and crying. Many of them did not realize who we were; they were disoriented. Mothers hid young girls in basements so that Russians would not do anything to them.
Irpin, Bucha - everything was looted there; Russians were looting cottages. My association with the Russian army is cowards and robbers. Cowards because they leave their people.
The war nurtures terrible post-war consequences. How will Russians be treated by children whose parents are now dying under shelling or vice versa?"
"On February 24, I was woken up by my Ukrainian neighbour; he's from Mykolaiv. He said the war had started. I called Dima Terror, and we decided to go to Ukraine."
Pavel was a soldier in Belarus from 2012 until 2015. "Then I was convicted allegedly for abuse of power. However, I have all the documents in my hands. In the new Belarus, I would like to appeal the sentence. I spent in a correctional open-type settlement in 2016-2017. After the release, I was a truck driver. In January 2021, I went to Poland and worked as a truck driver. I left for political reasons. I took part in the August 9-11, 2020 protest. My acquaintances warned me that they were about to come for me".